Return Fire

by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

  Stay calm and think, I told myself. I wanted a way out of this house. To find a future where we were back on the boat. If only the guard at the door went away or maybe if he fainted. Yes, I liked that idea. I didn’t have to really hurt him. Making him go unconscious would allow us to escape, and there’d be no permanent harm. Yes, I thought, that is what I want.

  I focused on this thought, and suddenly I could feel an undercurrent flowing in another direction. I pushed myself down that path and saw the burly guard standing outside our door, collapsing to the floor.

  Had I just changed the future? Maybe that action was enough to change all future events. Dame Elisabeth had said every change had consequences.

  I couldn’t resist going further. I continued moving forward on this new wave to see what lay ahead. Like an old movie playing on a screen that was flying by me, I saw Asher, Simone, and me on the boat.

  My heart beat faster. That’s exactly what I want to happen, I thought.

  More images bloomed in my mind.

  Through a thick fog, I saw a dark pillowcase being pulled over my head. What did that mean?

  Before I could think any more about that, the image switched to a scientist in a laboratory working with test tubes.

  Oxygen filled my lungs in short little breaths, and my heart pounded like it wanted to burst out of my chest. In the distance, I heard a voice. It was Asher, but I ignored him and forged ahead, wanting to see more of the future.

  A future I might have already saved.

  The next scene was Tobias running through the streets of Paris, where a long line had formed in front of a hospital. Then the final image from my first vision reappeared. This time, there were more dead bodies, and the men in hazmat suits all stood as if frozen, staring up at the sky.

  A high-pitched whistling noise surrounded me. I couldn’t tell if it was part of the vision or something that was happening to me.

  I gasped for air.

  There was none.

  An explosion rocked me to the core.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  Death was near.

  Air.

  It filled my lungs as I felt my soul being yanked back through space and time. The visions were whizzing by me in reverse order as I fell backward into what felt like a bottomless pit. I heard Asher’s muffled voice in the distance but couldn’t understand what he was saying. I tried to zero in on him.

  And then I was back in my body.

  “Get her out!” I heard Tobias shout. “She’s been there too long!”

  I opened my eyes to find myself lying on the floor again with Asher beside me, holding both my hands.

  “She’s okay,” Simone said. She stood behind Asher, a look of relief on her face.

  “Cassie.” Asher gasped as if he had run a marathon. “You can’t do that. I almost couldn’t get to you.”

  I sat up expecting to feel weak and weary just like after an echo tracing, but instead I felt energized and powerful. “I’m fine,” I said, bouncing up and slapping imaginary dust off my jeans. “Unseal the door.”

  “Are you okay?” Simone didn’t sound convinced, but she pressed a button, causing the metal door to slide back.

  “I said I’m fine.” I headed to the door. “But we have to go. We need to get to the boat.”

  “I meant Asher,” Simone answered.

  Turning around, I noticed that Asher was leaning against the bed. He had a dazed look in his eyes, and his face was extremely pale.

  “Just a little dizzy.” He blinked very slowly and touched his temple. “I’ll get it together. Give me a couple of seconds.”

  “You stayed too long in the Realm,” Tobias commented. “You haven’t been trained.”

  “Well, even without training, I was able to do this.” I grinned and swung open the door, revealing the guard that had met our boat downstairs slumped on the floor.

  Asher looked horrified. “Is he … ?”

  “Dead?” I finished the question while stepping over the man. The energy I’d felt while in the Realm still surged through my veins. It felt like everyone was moving in slow motion while I was overly caffeinated. “No. Just unconscious. But once we get out of here, I’ll have to use the spear again because this time I didn’t make any real changes.”

  “That’s because it wasn’t a big enough act,” Tobias explained. “Matters of life and death are what have the biggest influence on the future.”

  “Yeah, well I’m going to find another way … thank you very much.” I turned to Simone, not caring to hear anything else Tobias might say. “Ready?”

  “Cassie, you’re acting strange.” Simone had that “concerned mother” face.

  “I’m fine,” I repeated. “We just really need to get moving while this guy’s still out.”

  “She’s right,” Asher agreed. “We don’t have time to waste. I’m feeling better.”

  Asher taped up Tobias’s mouth, and then the three of us hurried down to the cave. I wasn’t worried about anyone trying to stop us because, in the vision, I’d already seen us in the boat.

  Once aboard, I tried starting the engine, but it sputtered and died.

  “I can do it,” Asher said, moving me out of the way so he could navigate the boat. “I may be a bit wobbly, but I’m still the better driver.”

  We pulled out into the open sea, and with the fresh air, Asher began to get his coloring back.

  “Where are we going?” Simone asked, gazing out to the horizon, where the storms clouds had gathered earlier. The skies were now clear and the sun hung low.

  “Rome,” I said.

  “Naples,” Asher declared at the same time.

  “Um, which one is it?” Simone asked.

  “We’re going to go to Rome because my grandmother and dad are probably there,” I said. “She can teach me to use the spear to fix the future.”

  “I don’t think using it again is a good idea.” Asher looked back at me. “We have no right to mess with these things. It’d be better to be free of the spear and release destiny.”

  “We do have the clue in the journal that points to the Caravaggio painting in Naples,” Simone added. “We’re probably closer to figuring it all out than anyone else has been.”

  “Fine,” I said, yielding to them. “Naples is on the way to Rome anyway. But just so we’re clear, if we get into any trouble … we all agree that I will use the spear again, right?”

  Asher and Simone glanced at each other in a way that made me feel uneasy.

  Were they planning something behind my back? Had they been talking about me? Didn’t they understand that I had a special gift and was willing to use it to help them?

  “Let’s just try to avoid getting into any trouble,” Asher suggested as he increased the boat’s speed.

  We all stayed quiet for a few minutes. I let the sea spray splash against me a couple of times as the adrenaline I’d felt earlier faded. My eyes kept going to the backpack that Asher had put on the floor between his legs. I felt such a strong sensation, a yearning to use the spear again.

  I shook it off. The spear was to be used in emergencies only. I had to remember that.

  “Um, I’ve been thinking about something Tobias said …” Simone bit the side of her nail. “About how he was killing people because only the death of one person would free destiny … Do you think he’s right?”

  “I don’t know,” Asher answered. “Maybe in his warped mind that was the only way.”

  “And he doesn’t have all the information,” I said. “He may not have any real information at all.”

  “But what if he’s right?” Simone persisted. “I was thinking about something Professor Latchke talked about in history class.”

  “You remember something from a history class?” Asher smirked.

  “I’m not the dumb blonde you think I am, Asher,” Simone answered. “And what I was thinking about was how Franz Ferdinand’s death caused a snowball effect that led to World War I. Just like the Tunisian street vendor who
sparked the Arab Spring. One person dying changed the entire world.” She bit her bottom lip. “What if we end up having to do what Tobias was talking about? Bring death to one innocent person in order to save the world. What if that’s the only way? Would we do it? Should we?”

  I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. The thought was too extreme.

  But the question lingered.

  How far would I go to release destiny?

  Wouldn’t it be better to decide the world’s future myself, without hurting anyone?

  Tobias warned us that using the spear would make me into a monster like him—but what if there was no escape from that? Either choice might make me be seen as a villain.

  Was that my true destiny? To be a monster just like my father?

  Shades of pink, orange, and red streaked the clouds above Naples as the sun dipped closer to the water. We had decided to find a marina other than the one where we had rented the boat, just in case someone had spotted us, and the one with a medieval seaside castle seemed like a good choice. It was close but not too close.

  After docking, we walked between apartment buildings that had clotheslines strung from window to window, until we wandered into a tiny piazza.

  “We need a map or directions,” Asher said, heading toward a restaurant. “I can ask in there.”

  “Neither of you should go in there. Someone might recognize you,” Simone warned.

  “It’s better if I go in and ask.” She pointed to an area between the restaurant and a small hotel. “You can wait for me over there.”

  “We do stand out.” I watched as two men smoking cigarettes went into a different bar across the street. “I think everyone here is local.”

  “Fine. You go ask,” Asher said, taking off his backpack and switching it so that it now hung from his chest.

  “Palazzo Zapatos is the museum name you remember, right, Cassie?” Simone verified. “Palace of Shoes?”

  “It’s something like that, but not quite.” Two little girls ran around, chasing pigeons in between the chairs of the outdoor café, while their mother continued to one of the main doors of the apartment building. “The museum is Palazzo Z-something. That’s really all I remember.”

  “Just hurry up,” Asher said in a low voice. He pulled his Juventus cap down a little lower as an old man with a cane strolled past. “We’re gonna get noticed out here.”

  I thought about the spear. Would using it help? Maybe I could see the museum’s location, find out if it was safe for us to go there. It might be better than asking someone.

  My hand tingled, as if it was craving the spear. It was so close to me now.

  “Let’s stand over by that wall,” Asher suggested as Simone darted to the restaurant. “We’ll be less obvious.” Once there, he stood in front of me, his hand against the wall and his back to the street, concealing me.

  “What did you see this time when you used the spear?” he asked, his voice just above a whisper.

  “Different things.” I had to tilt my head up to look into Asher’s greenish-gray eyes. He looked at me intently, not with curiosity but with concern. I couldn’t forget that his fate was tied to mine. He deserved to know everything. “I saw the guard passing out. Then I saw us in the boat headed to Naples.”

  “Uh-huh. So that’s already happened. What else?”

  “I was somewhere foggy, and someone slipped a black pillowcase over my head. The next things I saw were a scientist in a lab and Tobias running through Paris.”

  Asher grimaced. “That doesn’t sound very good. What about all the people dying in the streets?”

  My shoulders slumped, and my head dropped. “That still happened,” I muttered. “The only difference was that this time there were more bodies, and the people in the hazmat suits were staring up at the sky and then there was a big explosion.”

  “Like a bomb?”

  “I don’t know.” I rubbed my temples. “That’s when you pulled me out. I should use the spear again to try to see more and change—”

  “No.” Asher didn’t let me finish my sentence. “You are not going to use the spear again until we try to free destiny. We’re messing around with things that we don’t fully understand.”

  “But that was the whole point of getting the spear … to fix things!”

  “But what if you’re only making things worse?” Asher got closer to me. “It’s not worth the risk when we might have another solution. We can wait until—”

  “You two look very cozy over here,” Simone teased, sticking her head under Asher’s arm. “But we need to figure out something for the night. The museum is closed until tomorrow morning.”

  Asher took a couple of steps back so that we could all face one another. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Did they know which museum you were talking about?”

  “Yep.” Simone nodded. “And it’s Palazzo Zevallos.” She gave me a wink and a smile. “Not Zapatos.” Simone pointed inland. “The museum is toward the middle of the city. I was hoping it might be in that seaside castle we saw, but it’s not. That place is called Castel dell’Ovo.”

  “Castle of the Egg?” I asked, unsure if I was translating it correctly.

  “That’s what they told me.”

  Asher looked around. “So, we need to find somewhere to spend the night.”

  “I ordered some pasta for us at the restaurant. It’ll be ready in about ten minutes.” Simone glanced at the mostly empty tables in the plaza. “We can eat it here or take it with us, but I figured we needed to have dinner at some point.”

  Asher frowned. “We can’t stay here. Your mother probably already knows we took the spear, and she’ll be searching for all three of us. Nowhere is really safe.”

  “Another church?” Simone suggested.

  I shook my head. “If nowhere is safe, then we have to go to the middle of nowhere.”

  “Huh?” Asher and Simone responded in unison.

  “The sea,” I explained. “We stay on the boat and anchor it somewhere secluded. There are plenty of desolate coves along the coast.”

  “Good idea.” Asher nodded in approval.

  It was settled. The sea would be our home for the night.

  I woke before sunrise, while the stars still twinkled and danced in the sky. Lying on the boat, a life jacket for my pillow, my thoughts carried me back to my childhood.

  Papi could have told me the truth about who I was so many different times, and yet he had kept it from me. He had been searching for the spear for years, and I had found it in just a few days. Maybe it was because I had always been the one who was supposed to find it. Everyone spoke of destiny. Maybe this was mine. To be the one to choose the future path.

  “How long have you been awake?” Asher asked, one eye still closed. He had slept with the backpack under his head.

  “A while,” I replied, noticing that the sky was beginning to lighten and that dawn would soon break. “We still have a few hours before the museum opens. You should go back to sleep.”

  He stretched out his arms and sat up. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah.” I chuckled. “Sure.”

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You,” I said with a smile. “Everything’s okay if you ignore the fact that we’re being chased by assassins, your life is bound to mine, and that most of mankind will probably die soon. Other than those few pesky details, everything is awesome.”

  “Yeah,” he muttered, lying back down and closing his eyes. “Stupid question.”

  Eventually, after the sun came up, we headed back to port. We docked, and having picked up a tourist map the night before, we ventured out toward the center of town.

  We crossed a few main avenues and entered a maze of narrow, cobblestoned streets. Café owners were serving breakfast outside on small tables and several stores had already opened their doors. Everything was still relatively quiet, with only a scattering of people out on the street. It seemed that most of the locals were inside the balconied apartments that surround
ed us.

  Finally, we hit upon Via Toledo, the street where we’d find the museum. We hurried as nearby merchants pushed back the gates that had protected their business’s front doors, and the lights inside store windows flickered on.

  “That’s it right there.” Simone pointed ahead. A set of large arched doors was framed on either side by banners draped from third-floor balconies. One banner advertised a new exhibition of Renaissance art, and the other featured a close-up of Saint Ursula clutching an arrow at her chest with the name Caravaggio printed boldly in white at the bottom.

  Then I noticed the person standing just inside the doorway, and my heart sank.

  It was a security guard. He could be aware that the police were looking for us. He might even be on the lookout.

  “The first floor is a bank,” Asher muttered. That’s when I noticed the ground-level windows held advertising for financial products.

  “Are we sure it’s here?” I asked. “Maybe there’s another entrance.”

  Just then, a group of tourists led by a woman in a large red hat entered through the main doors. The guard didn’t even take notice of them.

  “It has to be in there. Come on, and don’t make eye contact with the guard.” Asher hurried across the street with Simone and I close behind.

  All three of us kept our heads down as we entered the building. The tour group huddled in the middle of the enormous three-story courtyard, which was covered by a glass ceiling. All around us were smaller archways that had been converted into banking offices. Off to one side, a large marble staircase led to the second-floor breezeway overlooking the lower level.

  “Permesso.” A janitor motioned for me to get out of the way as he carried a couple of folding chairs toward a small temporary stage at the edge of the courtyard.

  “We need tickets for the museum,” Simone whispered. “I’ll go buy them. Stay here.”

  Asher handed me a pamphlet from a small table in the corner of the room. “According to the brochure, there’s going to be some sort of discussion on lesser-known Baroque artists in a couple of hours,” he whispered. “That means there’ll be more people here. We need to hurry.”